1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a golf swing practice device; and, more particularly, to a simple, lightweight, readily portable, inexpensive device that may be used by a golfer--whether male, female, adult, child, right-handed or left handed, and whether experienced or inexperienced--to practice and perfect the golfer's swings when using either woods, long irons, short irons, or when pitching, chipping and/or putting. More specifically, the present invention relates to a simple, yet highly effective, device which can be positioned relative to the lie of the golf ball so as to create an unobtrusive, imaginary barrier or guide plane parallel to the desired line-of-flight of the ball such that the golfer is constrained to swing the club with the same inside-out downswing trajectory every time, thereby: (i) improving the tendency to maintain the club face in a slightly closed position at the point of impact so as to propel the ball with a slight hook/draw trajectory which is desired; (ii) decreasing the tendency to maintain the club face in an open position at the point of impact so as to minimize the chances of propelling the ball along a fade/slice trajectory; (iii) increasing accuracy of the ball's line-of-flight; and (iv), increasing distance.
The exemplary golf swing practice device of the present invention may be used with equal facility for inducing proper golf swings when used with: (i) woods off the tee where it is generally desired that the point-of-impact between the ball and the club face occur just after the bottom of the golf swing--i.e., at the beginning of the golfer's upswing during follow-through; (ii) fairway woods ("3", "4" and "5" woods) and longer and intermediate irons ("1" irons through "6" irons) where it is generally desired that the point-of-impact between the ball and the club face occur on the downswing portion of the golfer's swing approximately four inches (4") to five inches (5") inches prior to reaching the bottom of the swing; and (iii) shorter irons ("7", "8" and "9" irons and/or wedges) where it is desired that the point-of-impact occur just prior to reaching the bottom of the downswing. Moreover, the device readily permits practice of such shots as pitchs, chips and/or putts where it serves to minimize the natural tendency of the golfer to employ an excessive backswing.
2. Background Art
In recent years, the sport of golf has achieved everincreasing popularity with both old and young alike, as well as males and females, all of whom are desirous of improving their golf score to the greatest degree possible. However, many of those individuals do not have access to, and/or cannot afford the luxury of tutoring by, a qualified golf professional. As a consequence, the average non-professional golfer rapidly gets into the habit of making fundamental errors in his/her swing which result in improper clubface/ball impact and, therefor, skyrocketing scores. As a result, there has long been a need for a simple teaching aid which is not expensive, which can be used by anyone irrespective of their physical abilities and/or disabilities, and which enables the golfer to repetitively employ a proper golf swing--swings which will differ from club to club--for virtually any condition encountered, be it a wood or an iron shot from the tee or fairway, an approach shot such as a pitch or chip, or when putting.
Indeed, the prior art is replete with patents showing a wide variety of such devices For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,287--Plunkett et al. discloses a relatively cumbersome and complex curvilinear guide within which the head of the club is located and which serves to confine the club head to the same arcuate path on both the backswing and the downswing. Not only is such device relatively large and expensive, but, moreover, the use thereof does not prepare the golfer for actual playing conditions where there are no restraining guides. Indeed, the Plunkett et al device is believed to be undesirable because it tends to induce the golfer to move the club head in the same curvilinear path on both the backswing and the downswing, thereby preventing the golfer from employing a correct inside-out swing. A similar apparatus subject to all of the same disadvantages is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,653,025--Zega. Moreover, both of the foregoing devices are limited to use with right-handed golfers; and, a completely different design is required for use by left-handed players.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,583--Oppenheimer, the patentee proposes the use of a relatively complex harness worn by the golfer and having a guy secured to the club head and to the harness for controlling the path through which the club head passes. Such a harness not only interferes with the golfer's natural free swing, but, additionally, it can promote movement of the golfer's shoulders to undesired positions which result in an improper swing.
Yet another apparatus is disclosed in, for example, the more recently issued U.S Pat. No. 4,486,020--Kane et al wherein a wall-mounted unit is releasably attached to the club so that when in use the club is forced to move along a fixed arcuate path for both the backswing and the downswing.
Canadian Pat. Nos. 872,391--Gentry (1971), 911,478--Hetman et al (1972), and 1,216,870--Shipley (1987) are all of incidental interest for their disclosures of control devices for golf swings which are quite similar to that disclosed in the aforesaid Kane, U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,020--that is, in each of these devices the club is tethered to a wall or other fixed object so as to insure that the club head moves in the same curvilinear path at all times irrespective of whether it is being moved during the backswing or the downswing.
Finally, attention is directed to Canadian Pat. No. 949,993--Seltzer (1974) where the patentee discloses a golf club swing guide quite similar to that shown in the aforesaid Plunkett et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,287 except that in this instance the highly complex guide includes one curvilinear track for the backswing and a second curvilinear track for the downswing so as to hopefully train the golfer to utilize the correct inside-out swing so critical to accuracy and distance. As in the case of Plunkett et al, the Seltzer device requires different designs for right and left-handed golfers, as well as for golfers of differing heights.
Unfortunately, however, none of the devices disclosed in the foregoing patents are realistically suited for teaching proper golf swings. Thus, in each instance the golf club is physically coupled to some type of restraint device; yet, when the golfer encounters actual playing conditions that restraint device is no longer present and, consequently, the golfer's swing during actual playing conditions is being made under conditions markedly different from those encountered when using the training device. Moreover, except for the heavy, cumbersome and complex device proposed in the aforesaid Seltzer Canadian Pat. No. 949,993 (1974), each of the other devices improperly trains the golfer to swing the club head along the same curvilinear path on both backswing and downswing, thus promoting an outside-in swing at impact and increasing the tendency to develop an undesirable fade or slice. Finally, none of the foregoing devices is suitable for use under actual playing conditions; and, none is suitable for use in practice pitching, chipping and/or putting. Indeed, each must be specially designed to be compatible for use with right-handed and left-handed golfers, male and female golfers whose statures are generally quite different, and for tall golfers on the one hand and short on the other.